Pitts

Pitts may refer to:

People

Pitts, Georgia

Pitts is a city in Wilcox County, Georgia, United States. The population was 308 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Pitts is located at 31°56′43″N 83°32′24″W / 31.94528°N 83.54000°W / 31.94528; -83.54000 (31.945270, -83.540004).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all land.

History

The community which later became Pitts began as a settlement in the area of the home of L.C. Peebles, two miles east of the Alapaha River. Brock Owens and Ashley J. Pitts operated the first store there in the mid-1880s. Pitts was called Kings' Crossing at the time. When application was made for a post office, the Postmaster General preferred a shorter name. J.A. King suggested the name Pitts, in honor of his son-in-law, Ashley J. Pitts. The name was accepted, and the post office was established on 1 November 1888 with Pitts as postmaster.

On April 20, 1921, various people throughout southwest and south-central Georgia observed a meteor trail across the sky which culminated in an explosion and impact at a minimum of four spots slightly north of Pitts. Three fragments of the meteorite were recovered, one falling within a few feet of a child playing outside. It was classified as an iron meteorite. The largest recovered fragment weighed 3.76 kilograms and is currently housed in the Smithsonian Institution Collection. The other fragments remain in private collections. Local accounts and fragments were collected and documented in the Geological Survey of Georgia Bulletin, Issue 29.